Barclays is to offer discounted anti-virus software to its online banking customers as part of a strategy to protect users from internet fraudsters.

The bank has signed a deal with Finnish internet security vendor F-Secure to provide online account holders with added protection against hackers, spyware, viruses and other attacks.

‘We are always looking for ways to help customers with security, but it needs to be a partnership,’ said Tom Salmond, e-crime intelligence manager in Barclays’ financial crime management division. ‘We can do all we can to secure our own systems, but the latest attacks have focused on our customers.’

Barclays customers will have the choice of downloading two different annual IT security subscription packages for £16.95 or £24.95, at a discount of about 30 per cent.

LloydsTSB announced a similar deal with anti-virus vendor Zone Labs last year.
‘We want to help them protect themselves against viruses and trojans,’ said Salmond.

The bank is tightening security measures after seeing a growth in online fraud.
‘The attacks have evolved extremely rapidly and we have seen phishing attacks grow globally, as well as in the UK,’ said Salmond.

‘There are constant efforts by criminals to recruit people into money laundering through spam emails, and they’re also adapting sophisticated root-kits, which hide on PCs. This extra security will help customers respond very quickly to these threats.’

The bank’s IT security department is also using anti-fraud technology to spot criminal activity. For added protection it is forwarding details of any new information-stealing trojans it discovers to anti-virus firms.

Barclays is also working with the government’s National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre and its financial services computer emergency response team to share information across the industry.

‘We have a whole range of counter measures in place, from monitoring transactions behind the scenes to anti-virus through to consumer education,’ said Salmond. ‘As new users come online we need to make sure we reach out to them to make sure they have the latest measures.’